The present invention concerns a novel collision survival system for vehicles, specifically the present invention concerns a harness that is worn by the occupants of a car and attaches to the interior of the car.
There are approximately 3.2 million fatalities and injuries in the United States every year related to automobile and other vehicle accidents. Medical expenses for the 3.2 million injuries and fatalities amount to approximately $150 billion, exclusive of property damages. Among the 3.2 million fatalities and injuries are approximately 180,000 children under the age of nine.
Currently, safety equipment in vehicles includes the following:
Seat Belts:
Current seat belts are designed to be used in vehicles at any time that an vehicle is running. Often times, vehicle riders do not use their seat belts, generally due to neglect. Further, in case of collision, it has been found that seat belts alone do not provide sufficient protection. It has been determined that certain body parts are not protected by seat belts during collisions, for example, seat belts cannot protect the neck or head area. Also, when seat belts are worn in a collision, the belts cause severe impacts to the body in the areas where they are worn, specifically across the shoulder and belly area.
Air Bags:
Most modem automobiles are provided with air bags. The standard placement of air bags is on the dashboard of the vehicle, generally facing the occupant. When an air bag deploys it typically explodes towards the passenger with great speed and force. Air bags have been known to deploy when not needed, such as when there has not been an accident or when there has been such a slight accident which as not to have required the deployment of the air bag. The deployment of air bags in such cases and in cases of accidents have been known to cause injuries and even fatalities. Further, in cases of severe collisions, air bags have been known to cause severe injury or death to small adults and to children. In addition, the chemical used to inflate the air bag, sodium azide, has been found to be unsafe for some passengers.
Child Restraint Systems:
Most states require that children of a certain age or size be placed in child restraint seats in automobiles. For newborn children and small toddlers by the restraints include seats that face towards the rear of the vehicle known as infant car seats. Older children are required to be places in larger forward facing child restraint seats or car seats and/or booster seats. The requirements for booster seats have recently been found to be necessary for older children who are generally smaller, as the booster seat elevated the child so as to allow a standard seat and shoulder belt to lie correctly on the shoulder and mid- section of the smaller child.
The most common problem with these child restraint seats is the fact that most parents do not use the seats properly. When not used properly, these child restrain systems do not protect the child, may be ineffective in preventing injury or death in an accident and can result in injury to the child. These problems could be solved if parents use the child restraints properly. However, because there are a number of manufacturers of these seats and each manufacturer may utilize a different system of securing the seat to the automobile, it is often difficult for parents and others to know how to properly attach the seat.
The present invention concerns a supplemental restraint system for use in an automobile or vehicle comprising, a harness having restraints for attachment to the seat of an automobile. The harness, which may be of a variety of types, including a series of belts and buckles, or a series of braces and bars resembling a safety cage, or a typical cloth jacket worn as a garment. The harness or the jacket, or a combination of both, is wearable by a rider in the vehicle such that when the rider wears the harness, jacket or combination, the rider is secured to the seat-belt of the vehicle so that the rider remains secured against the seat of the vehicle notwithstanding the motion of the vehicle.
It will be understood by persons having skill in the art that their are two preferred basic embodiments of the supplemental restraint system that arise from the present invention. Each of these embodiments is tied to the type of restrain system available in the vehicle, either a three point system using a lap and shoulder belt system or a system using merely the lap belt, when that is all that is available. However, other embodiments can be derived without departing from the novel scope of the present invention.
In a vehicle having a three point adult lap and shoulder belt, typically all of the seating positions, with the exception of the rear central position, has both a lap belt and a shoulder belt. As will be explained in greater detail below, and in the detailed description, the lap portion of the vehicle lap and shoulder belt can be routed through a belt guide located along the lower edge of the jacket/harness and the shoulder belt alone is routed through the belt guide located on the shoulder of the jacket/harness.
In the second preferred embodiment, the vehicle has a restraint system comprising solely a lap belt. It will be understood that this system is also descriptive of the center rear position in most vehicles having a shoulder belt for all of the other seating positions. A special elastic top tether is provided for use in conjunction with the second embodiment. As will be described in greater detail below, and in the detailed description, the top tether provides upper torso restraint when using a vehicle lap belt only. The lap belt can be routed through the belt guide located along the lower edge of the jacket/harness; the tether is attached to the jacket/harness at the shoulders and to the vehicle frame at the tether anchor.
In a preferred embodiment, the supplemental restraint system has restraints that comprise a plurality of belts forming a five point type-restraint system with a system of harnesses and harness assembly connectors allowing the connection of the harness to a modem automobile safety restraint harness system. The modern automobile safety restraint system including tether attachment points for front and rear passengers.
In another embodiment, the harness system is attached to either a jacket or a vest that allows the harness to be worn outside of the automobile in a fashionable manner and which is then attachable to the seat portions of the automobile.
In another embodiment, the supplemental restraint system has a sleeve attached to the jacket or vest, the sleeve being slideable over the back portion of the seat. In this manner, the back of the seat of the vehicle provides bracing force to the jacket or vest In one embodiment, where the jacket resembles an ordinary cloth jacket, extra material may be added to the back panel of the jacket to provide the slideable sleeve. The extra material being hidden in the pattern of the material or in the design of the jacket such that the jacket can be worn outside of the vehicle without appearing to be an incomplete or strange garment.
In another embodiment, the restraints comprise belts, having buckles, attached to the harness, jacket or vest and buckled together about the seat.
In another embodiment the jacket, vest or pockets attached to the harness includes air bags, and air bag discharge sensors, strategically placed such that motions which typically cause automobile-type air bags to deploy, cause the jacket, vest or harness air bags to deploy. Further, in one embodiment, the jacket, vest or harness air bags are strategically placed on the garment or harness to provide needed restraint in an air bag deployment incident. Also, in such embodiment, the deployment of the air bags occurs or expands in a direction not diametrically opposite to the movement of the garment or harness such that the bag does not strike the user of the supplemental restraint system head-on. In this embodiment, an air bag that is placed on or near the chest portion of the garment or harness deploys in the direction that the user is travelling so that the user is not struck by the air bag. This embodiment has the added benefit of providing air bag protection for an automobile that does not have air bags built into the automobile.
In another embodiment, the harness or garment may be separated from the automobile, such that it may be worn as an ordinary garment, under a garment, or about a garment in a fashionable manner when the user is away from the automobile, and may be reattached upon returning to the automobile.
The present invention provides a seat belt and supplemental restraint system that includes a number of harness belts, forming, in a preferred embodiment, a five-point harness system, or bars and straps that keep a passenger in his seat and which can include a number of air bags, in association with the harness belts, bars and straps, such that one or more air bags will, upon vehicle impact, inflate upon and about the passenger rather than towards the passenger. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, means to attach a restraint harness system or a jacket to the automobile seat are provided. The passenger may be seated within the harness system or jacket and, thus, be provided with a number of belts and/or bars and surrounding air bags, such that injury will be prevented by keeping the passenger in his seat and providing cushioning air bags to surround and protect the passenger. It is to be understood that the restraint system of the present invention may be provided with crash detection sensing devices and may be connected to the vehicle in such a fashion as to utilize crash sensors present in the vehicle and/or which are well known to persons having skill in the art.
In a further embodiment of the present invention a supplemental restraint system that can resemble an ordinary jacket, such as a leather jacket or a wind-breaker, is envisioned. The jacket has means for sensing that an accident or impact has occurred, or has means to attach the jacket to external sensors or to the sensors conventionally found in a vehicle. The passenger puts the jacket on, in the way one would normally put a jacket on, and sits in the vehicle. The restraint system built into the jacket, including a means to attach the person to the vehicle seat, such as a wide band of jacket material (which can be as wide and tall as the entire back area of the jacket) is slid over the vertical portion of car seat-back, so as to restrain the person in the seat, and air bags, are built into the jacket.
The supplemental restraints of the present invention provide a means to protect the passenger with a system that is as easy to use as putting on a jacket.
The reason for the present invention is to provide a solution to the problems found in prior art seat belts, air bags and child restraint systems.
When air bags deploy, the speed and direction of the air bag is directly in the reverse direction of travel of the vehicle and the passengers. Accordingly, the impact of the passenger and air bag will be at a velocity that can be derived based on the velocity of the vehicle, its deceleration due to the impact, and the weight of the passenger in an additive manner. In the present invention, the moving speed and direction of passengers will be almost the same as the moving direction of the air bag deployed, thereby giving the passenger an almost zero extra impact from the air bag deployment.
Further, due to the design of seat belts, passengers are not protected fully and may be injured at the points of contact with the seat and shoulder belt on the body. The new design solves these problems by providing restraint over a wider area. In one case, bars and straps are used to restrain the passenger to the seat, in one embodiment, and in another embodiment, the passenger may be restrained though out his entire back.
A more detailed explanation of the invention is provided in the following description and claims and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.